Coffee Exporters in Vietnam plan to shift their dependency on U.S market and focus on EU, China and Japan
April 26 - 2025
Coffee Geography Magazine
By D.L.Gemeda
Coffee prices have started to recover following the US announcement of a temporary 10% import tariff on Vietnamese goods, climbing by $480 per tonne compared to the slump seen two weeks ago.
However, Do Ha Nam, chairman of Intimex Group, Vietnam’s leading coffee exporter, accounting for 19% of the country’s total coffee exports—warned against complacency. He stated, "The US remains a key strategic market, but Vietnam isn’t the only supplier. Brazil, Colombia, and Indonesia are also major players, continuously improving quality and currently facing lower tariffs. This pressures Vietnam to maintain its competitive edge, particularly in robusta, our primary export."
In the 2024 season, Intimex exported over 255,000 tonnes of coffee. Yet, Brazil dominates US coffee imports with 8.13 million bags shipped in 2024, while Vietnam and Indonesia each exported only around two million bags, mostly robusta.
To mitigate the impact of US tariffs, Intimex is diversifying markets by expanding exports to Europe, the Middle East, and countries with FTAs with Vietnam and improving quality, reducing costs, and strengthening branding to stay competitive. The company also plans to increase imports of US food products to help balance trade relations.
According to the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association (Vicofa), the country exported 1.45 million tonnes of coffee in 2023–2024, earning 5.4 billion. The US, Vietnam’s fourth-largest market, imported 81,000 tonnes (8% of total export value, trailing Germany, Italy, and Japan.
Trinh Duc Minh, chairman of the Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Association in Dak Lak, Vietnam’s coffee capital with 210,000 hectares producing 520,000 tonnes annually, emphasized the US market’s importance despite its smaller volume. He said, “The US favors premium coffee, especially roasted and instant varieties. The new tariffs will undoubtedly impact Vietnam’s sector."
Minh suggested pivoting toward robusta-heavy markets like the EU, China, Japan, and South Korea. Currently, only seven of the association’s 200 member businesses export to the US, mostly in small specialty coffee volumes.
The US National Coffee Association reports that coffee contributes $343 billion annually to the US economy, with 75% of Americans drinking it regularly. Since the US relies entirely on imports, a blanket tariff could raise domestic coffee prices by at least 50.
Le Duc Huy, chairman of Simexco Dak Lak, said the company is prioritizing fulfilling existing US orders within the next one to two months to minimize tariff impacts. Meanwhile, Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture has proposed US exemptions for key agricultural products, including coffee. He added, "We hope negotiations lead to favorable outcomes."